Creative Shifts
Asynchronous Session
Transcendental Creativity: Imagining in the Age of Data View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Andrew Banasiewicz
Learning and creativity have been traditionally seen as notionally distinct, but the wave of rapid techno-informational transformations suggests the need for a reassessment of that perspective. The accepted view of creativity frames that somewhat vague notion in the context of imagination, commonly described as forming of new ideas, which are those not already present to or in the senses. Implicitly, that view of creativity also effectively limits it to the uniquely human, conjured-by-the-mind processes, which in turn begs two fundamental questions: Firstly, should imagination-framed creativity be characterized as conjuring up something previously unknown, or is it more appropriate to see it as forming something new by combining known elements into a new whole? And secondly, should creativity continue to be seen as a uniquely human, conjured-by-the-mind process? If creativity is to no longer be limited to just ideas conjured by human mind, it seems reasonable to assert that artificial learning systems, which first identify patterns in data and then generalize beyond those patterns, should also be deemed capable of ‘imagining’. Those learning-capable computing systems – commonly grouped under the general label of ‘machine learning’ – can render not-yet-experienced (by human learners) ‘reality’, immersion in which could spark ideas – in human mind – that could likely go beyond those that could be conjured by mind alone. In short, data, or more specifically data-enabled automation, should be seen not only as a source of numerous operational efficiencies, but also as a driver of what is framed here as transcendental creativity.
Linkage between Work Environment and Socio-Psychological Experience of Employees View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Živilė Stankevičiūtė, Lina Girdauskiene, Asta Savaneviciene
The work environment covers a range of factors such as organizational culture, job content, workload and pace, interpersonal relationships at work, support of manager, the role of the employee in an organisation, human resource management practices and work-life balance that supposes different socio-psychological experience of employees. Leaders play a crucial role in the designing of the work environment and employees' perceptions of the threats and rewards stemming from the work environment. Hence, leader induced work environment affects the socio-psychological experience of the employee inspiring them, or conversely making them unhappy or unsatisfied. Moreover, positive experience at work increases employees’ engagement and productivity while negative experience can lead to stress symptoms that can eventually suppose more serious mental health problems. This study explores the linkage between work environment caused threats and rewards, and socio-psychological experience of employees and to provide insights for managerial behavior that could promote positive socio-psychological experience of employees.
Sites of Passage: Surfing The Paradigm Shifts View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tavia La Follette
Sites of Passage (SOP) are global interchanges for the migration of ideas across political/cultural borders. Like the name alludes to, SOP asks each artist to take a rite of passage. Exchanges take place between the USA and another country, around a topic of contention. The idea is to take the conversation away from the media and the politicians, who often have a very different agenda than the people. SOP gives the conversation to the artists to chew on. This is the foundation for all SOP projects. From that dialogue, a final exhibition and performance series is produced. In conjunction with The Mattress Factory Museum (MF), previous exchanges have taken place between Egypt and the US (revolving around the Egyptian Revolution and the Occupy Movement), Israel, Palestine and the US (revolving around the ideas of Borders, Walls and Citizenship), South Africa and the US (revolving around Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs) and this April (2022) Russia and the US (revolving around Propaganda, Truth, Revolution & Iconography). The 5th SOP project, an exchange with Indigenous artists inside US territories has begun. I present a performative lecture on these exchanges of conflict, which weave in and out of culture, war, politics, religion, social media driven obstacles and now – the global pandemic. This paper (re)thinks how traditional forms of exchanges happen amongst artists, activists, and organizations plus shares transformative moments with artists from a diverse selection of practices.
Understanding the Function of Belief in Human Society: The Family, Property, and the State View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Pamela L. Perez
In order to advance a well balanced and productive human social structure, it must be composed of relatively satisfied and happy individuals. This can only be achieved if the members of said social order have higher, and more abstract components, in which to believe. To this end, it can be argued that the failure of the Soviet Union, as a national federation was due to the contamination of the objective Soviet system of government, by the personal belief of Karl Marx in atheism. The spirit of his godless belief system is expressed in his economic theory of dialectical materialism. The Marxist idea of dialectical materialism contained the very thoughtful and humanistic concept of giving to each, according to his or her own needs. This philosophy, needless to say, implies a social network of care for each and every individual within the Soviet system of society, much lacking in the capitalistic forms of national economic exploitation. Albeit, these latter forms of government are based on the "spoils" or "merit" system, by which the awards to members of society are a function of what each produce. In truth, dialectical materialism is almost identical to Christianity, in that all property was communal, and meant to be shared equally by the social order in the name of God. Therefore, this paper examines the elements of family, property, and statehood, to be dealt with in a more Hegelian spirit of thought, which might lead to a more successful and satisfying experience of community for all.
